THE PEN PROJECT - SOME PHILOSOPHY (1)

" The point is that collaboration is not the same thing as cooperation . ...Cooperation [is] a multiplication of hands to get a job done. Collaboration is a multiplication of heads as well. When you collaborate with others, you partner up; you bring the best of who you are and what you know to the table, as does your partner, and together you think and act in ways that might not have been available to either of you alone. The differences in your experiences and respective slants on the world will enrich immensely the thinking that results. At their best, collaborators don't think exactly alike, but are sufficiently in harmony with one another that their differences create new insight, and each is taught by the other." (p.61)

"We contribute best to any joint enterprise when we are unafraid of bringing our distinctive perspectives and talents to bear on that venture. Just as we should encourage others to bring forth their special gifts and knowledge, we ought ourselves to be always moving toward deeper and more comprehensive states of self-awareness, self-knowledge and self-development, so that we can put ourselves in the best position for contributing what we alone might be able to bring to any project. Each of us has a history not quite like any other person. We've had special experiences, and we've built distinctive sets of skills, skills of thought as well as of action. We can make the most of our daily opportunities only if we get to know well and accustom ourselves to drawing upon our own unique trajectories through life." (p. 187)

"Ideally, whenever people are in a productive partnership together, they need to share purposes which are rooted in their deepest values and have been arrived at through a process of at least some mutual exploration and development. The partnership should be a true collaboration , with the active engagement of all parties bringing the best of who they are, what they know, and what they can do to that collaboration, and with both respect and honor flowing from each partner to each other partner. " (p. 105)

     "If Aristotle ran General Motors, everyone employed there would think of it as one huge partnership, encompassing myriads of smaller partnerships, for the purpose of living well. If he ran the corner grocery, he would instill in everyone there the same mindset. And if he offered you advice, I think this would be at its core: Always think of yourself as entering with other people into partnerships for living well. " (p.104)

     (1) If Aristotle Ran General Motors , Tom Morris, New York: Henry Holt & Company, 1997.